The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.
The proliferation of communications tools and resources, such as instant messaging clients, text messages, email, and social networking sites, has created a demand to exchange messages about any imaginable subject at any possible time from any possible device. Unfortunately, this demand is stifled by the limitations of the available input mechanisms and interfaces. For example, while many users are very adept at generating messages via input at computer keyboards, mobile phone number pads, and touch screens, these input mechanisms may be unavailable or even undesirable for devices such as entertainment consoles, media centers, and gaming consoles.
One technique for providing messaging interfaces in devices that lack a keyboard is to present an on-screen interface in which each key of the keyboard is depicted as an on-screen control. The controls of the on-screen interface may be selectable, for instance, via a user input at a remote control or gaming pad, such as a combination of arrow button inputs and an “enter” button input. Another technique for providing messaging interfaces relies upon the utilization of number buttons on a remote control in a “T9 mode,” similar to the manner in which one uses a number pad on a mobile phone to generate text messages. Both techniques may be further enhanced by presenting the user with a short menu of “predictive text” as the user inputs words, so that the user need only input a few characters of most word.
Yet another technique involves presenting to the user, along with an on-screen keyboard interface, a menu comprising a limited number of “canned messages.” The text of these messages may be pre-defined by the manufacturer, or customized by the user. Thus, if the user expects to send a message such as “be right back” very often, the user may define a corresponding “be right back” canned message. The interface may then feature a canned message menu from which “be right back” and other defined phrases can be selected and inserted into any message.
Unfortunately, users often find the above described techniques to be cumbersome or limiting. In fact, in situations where users may only be willing to devote a limited amount of attention to generating a message, such as while gaming or watching video content, users may even find keyboards to be unduly cumbersome. Accordingly, users often do not take advantage of messaging services that are or could be provided.